Interest In Military Rises, But Qualifications Falling Short

Just Thursday morning, a 79-year-old World War II vet walked into the U.S. Marines recruiting station in Delray Beach and "he was ready to go," the station commander recalls. To war.

Marine Sgt. Joseph Ellis, and military recruiters across South Florida, say the man -- notwithstanding his senior status -- is typical of who they're seeing walk in their doors: Decent, patriotic people who want to help defeat the enemy.

From Miami to Lake Worth, U.S. military recruiters report increased interest by people answering Uncle Sam's call.

"That's the way Americans are," Ellis said. "When it comes to something like this, the patriotism starts coming out and people want to serve their country."

Recruiters said it was too early to quantify any spike in enlistments, because the process takes up to five weeks. But interest is definitely up.

Army Staff Sgt. Gustavo Soto at the Hialeah recruiting station said his office has been receiving an average of 100 calls and 40 walk-ins a day, compared to perhaps 25 calls and 15 walk-ins before Sept. 11.

Unfortunately, all this interest isn't generating much.

"We have a lot of good, patriotic people, but many of them are too old or don't meet other eligibility requirements," said Sgt. Edgar Morales at the South Miami recruiting station.

The ideal Army recruit, for instance, is between 17 and 34, meets height and weight requirements, has a high school diploma or GED, is a citizen or resident alien and can pass a standardized intelligence test. He or she also can't be a single parent, have physical impairments or have major drug or felony charges.

All four branches begin accepting potential recruits at age 17, and the Marines accept recruits for basic training up to age 29, the Air Force to 27, while the Navy tops out at 34.

Army Staff Sgt. Craig Stevens, commander of the Lake Worth recruiting station, said meeting the age requirement has been a problem for his potential recruits, but so have education level, immigration status and criminal problems.

"I am seeing an increase in phone calls and walk-ins ... but I'm not seeing a dramatic increase in qualified individuals coming into my office."

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Robert Miller at the Margate station said his six recruiters have sifted through dozens of unqualified people and ended up with 12 qualified recruits since the attack -- a good number, he said. Overall interest since the attacks has tripled, Miller said.

"They want a piece of it. They want to take part of history. They want to say `I got rid of this rogue; I got rid of this dirt bag.'"